I got mine last week. It cost me an arm and a leg to afford... actually I couldn't afford it ... made by bank go overdraft for a few days x_x.
But the moment I opened the box and plugged it into my amp, my first thought was "This is the best thing I ever played".
It is very much worth it for me. It has dual humbuckers that Risa custom designed and handmade for the Ukulele, a Beautiful, flawless finish (arched top, cream binding, LP block fret markers, gloss..etc) and sounds like an absolute dream.
The clean tone is very sweet, mellow and rich. I'll try to get a good recording for it when I have time, but I am rather busy these days.. I find it opens a path to perform with other musicians in a band, such as electric guitars, vocals and keyboards. There are situations where a nylon stringedl ukulele does not blend well with other mainstream instruments/music, but the Risa tends to overcome those barriers.
The toggle switch between neck/bridge/both pickups and the tone/volume switches for each individual pickup also lets you shape your own unique sound needed for many styles and different songs.
The steel string electrics have a lot of sustain and have a mellower, midrangey quality to the tone. Well, kinda like an electric guitar but Ukeyfied !
Steel is a bit more, well 'harder' than nylon strings. But any uke player would get used to it within a week. The tension is low, like a uke, so playability remains similar.
The quality of the Risa is top notch. Everything about it says "real, professional level instrument" to me. The action is perfectly low already, so absolutely no need to setup upon purchase, and it's made in Germany.
Eleukes are also great instruments, but you get what you pay for (they don't cost as much as Risa). Their quality level is not as high as the Risa, and are made in China (nothing wrong with that! It's just that Germany is better known for quality).
You can play an Eleuke just fine out of the box, but the action does feel a bit higher than I would like.
Eleukes can be used as serious instruments in the right hands. The current models have good quality piezo pickups with tone and volume. It also has an mp3 input and headphone output, which are very useful and convenient features. But I think they still have more of a novelty, lighter appeal than the Risa. This is not a bad thing at all, as it is a great conversation starter if I happen to be carrying it around, and I feel more comfortable with taking it to places and having people try it out (whereas with my Risa, I am reluctant about letting others touch it.. my preciousss).
Eleukes are nylon string electrics with piezo pickups (pickups designed for acoustic-electrics), whereas the Risa Les Paul is a steel-string electric with magnetic pickups (pickups used for electric guitars).
So as playing goes, the Eleuke sustains less than the Risa and has a harsher, brighter tone. You can adjust this with the tone controls obviously, but overall it feels that way. However the Eleuke is closer to a traditional uke, since it has nylon strings. The Risa ventures a bit further from the traditional and mixes the sweet-high GCEA tuning of ukes on a Ukulele-sized body and neck and the versatility of electric gutiars.
If you can justify to purchase a Risa, you're probably very serious about electric ukuleles as a musician. I love electric instruments, like electric guitars, drums and ukuleles, so I knew that the Risa was the right instrument for me.
An Eleuke is kinda like an 'entry' instrument into electric ukuleles. It sure was to me
It's for the ukulele player who is curious about what a solid-body electric would be like without venturing too far from a regular ukulele with nylon strings.
When you want a Risa, you
know that the electric ukulele is the instrument for you. At the moment, it seems Risa is at the top-end for electric ukuleles.
They're both fun and versatile instruments in their own right. The Risa is my "dream uke" that I take care of and would be my first choice to perform with and impress people. The Eleuke is my travel companion to take around places as a beater electric uke. Eleukes also weigh a lot less. Risa electrics are heavy!
that's me playing the Risa at 5:01AM in the mornning. I couldn't take my hands off this beauty!
That's my collection... well I sold the Kala Archtop and will have to ship it off soon T_T